Today, Governor Tim Walz, U.S. Representative Sharice Davids, DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider, and Illinois soybean farmer John Bartman of Bartman Family Farms held a press call to highlight the impacts of Trump’s reckless trade war on the economy and American farmers, and his “America Last” bailout for Argentina’s economy. 

The DNC also released a new video today featuring Bartman, who shares the story of his family’s fifth-generation farm and the challenges farmers are facing under Trump’s disastrous economic and trade policies. The video will be accompanied by a 30-second ad that will air in districts in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Kentucky with a five-figure ad spend.

WATCH the video:

During today’s call, the speakers discussed Trump’s trade war, which has already resulted in family farms going bankrupt at the fastest pace in five years and record-high farm debt. As American farmers struggle, Trump is bailing out Argentina’s economy while Argentina undercuts U.S. farmers in the global marketplace. Now, the White House is weighing a bailout for American farmers — but today’s speakers were clear: Farmers don’t want a handout — they want their markets back. If Trump really wanted to help America’s farmers, he would reverse his disastrous trade war — but instead, he’s escalating it further by threatening 130% tariffs on China.

Find highlights from the call below: 

“Farmers are folks that feed, fuel, and clothe the world. They will compete in global markets and have because we produce better products at prices that keep American food prices down. All of those things are at threat because of Donald Trump’s ego,” said Governor Tim Walz. “It’s the undermining of the rural economy in general — not just our farmers, but our hospitals. The Medicaid cuts are going to disproportionately hit rural and critical access hospitals more than ever. The undermining of the Department of Education and funding for education is undermining rural schools, which give children the opportunity to succeed in all corners of this country. Everything Donald Trump does is transactional, and unfortunately, that transaction needs to benefit him or him personally.”

“Farmers want to farm. They want to do their jobs without worrying about whether they can pay their bills, whether they can meet their obligations at the end of the year,” said U.S. Representative Sharice Davids. “This chaotic tariff policy is creating so much uncertainty for our producers, and we have seen this before. During his first term, the President’s trade war caused our farmers to lose $27 billion in exports, and unfortunately, history is repeating itself, and American farmers are caught in the middle. We can absolutely compete with China without punishing the hardworking folks who put food on our tables.”

“Trump wants to give farmers a bailout. A bailout is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Government bailouts do not make up for our loss of income. We don’t want a bailout. We want markets for our crops. We want to be able to work hard every year and enjoy the fruits of our labor and know that we did it on our own,” said Illinois corn and soybean farmer John Bartman of Bartman Family Farms. “Who is benefiting from this trade war? Well, that’s an easy answer. South America is benefiting. Trump just gave $20 billion to Argentina, and they lowered their export tax. China then immediately bought 7 million tons of their soybeans. 7 million tons. I can’t even fathom that. MAGA now means ‘Make Argentina Great Again.” 

“This is a one-two punch for folks. The first punch is the loss of markets, maybe forever for farmers, and then the President handing $20 billion and soybean markets to Argentina,” said DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider. “Imagine if you’re sitting on a farm in Illinois or Kansas or Minnesota or North Dakota, and you hear that? It doesn’t matter who you voted for — that is a finger in the eye and it is just an absolute insult.”